One of the major challenges for transit organizations is customer experience measurement. A large part of the customer experience relates to the “smoothness” of the ride. In order to provide a smooth ride, both acceleration and deceleration, typically as a result of braking, should be slow. Hard acceleration and braking can lead to discomfort for vehicle passengers, as they have to brace themselves. In addition, making turns (referred to as “cornering”) while the vehicle is travelling quickly can also lead to vehicle passenger discomfort. Further, where possible, changes in the rate of acceleration and braking should be slow. Sudden changes in the rate of acceleration lead to a “jerky” ride, and can, in some cases, lead to injury of the vehicle passengers.
Another major challenge for transit organizations is keeping fuel consumption low. Fuel represents a significant portion of the day-to-day costs for a transit organization. A contributing factor to poor fuel consumption is hard acceleration. By simply accelerating at a slower rate, and by proper anticipation of the road and traffic conditions ahead, the fuel consumption of a vehicle can be significantly reduced.
Still another challenge for transit organizations is to keep maintenance costs low. Maintenance costs consist of not only the cost of servicing a vehicle, but also the cost of having to replace that vehicle on the road. One part of maintenance costs relates to servicing of the brake systems of vehicles. Hard braking can significantly reduce the time between replacement of brake system components.
The smoothness of the ride is a result of a number of factors, including the driving habits of the driver and the condition of the vehicle itself. A driver may accelerate and/or brake harder than at a desired level, leading to the above-noted issues. It can be desirable to identify, on an ongoing basis, specific drivers who would most benefit from targeted driver training in order to keep training costs low and reduce interruption of the daily operation of the transit organization. The process of identifying drivers that would best benefit from driver training, however, can prove very difficult. Direct attribution of the poor fuel economy of a vehicle to the driver operating the vehicle can result in a number of drivers being incorrectly flagged as being good candidates for driver training. There are, in fact, a number of parameters that impact the fuel economy of transit vehicles, such as the type of vehicle, the route travelled, the fare and traffic load along the route (which is largely dependant on the day and time), the weather conditions, etc. Many of these factors cannot be controlled, however. Other methods of evaluating drivers for driver training are available, such as having a skilled assessor ride in a vehicle being operated by a driver. Should the driver be aware of the presence of an assessor, however, he may consciously or subconsciously alter his driving style temporarily, thus possibly incorrectly rejecting the driver as a good candidate for driver training.
Similarly, it can also be desirable to identify vehicles that are performing poorly. A vehicle with a faulty transmission can lead to a jerky ride. As local maintenance is costly, it can be desirable to prioritize vehicles in terms of their condition and, thus, candidacy for servicing. For the most part, vehicle condition is reported by drivers when a vehicle exhibiting clear signs of requiring service, such as an engine running very roughly, visible smoke from the exhaust, or a significantly underinflated tire. Otherwise, the condition of the vehicle is generally assessed very infrequently when undergoing a regular scheduled maintenance. As a result, vehicles exhibiting less prominent symptoms may not be quickly identified for servicing.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a system and method for analyzing performance data in a transit organization.